Migrate One Google Account to Another: Free and Full Move
Written by Shaks George, Senior Analyst at Corbett Software. Shaks works on email client migration and mailbox data recovery cases.
Setting up a fresh Google account and want the mail and contacts from your old one to come along? Despite what a lot of guides claim, Google does give you a free way to do this. It just has limits, and knowing them tells you whether the free route is enough or whether you want something that keeps your labels intact.
Summary: To migrate one Google account to another, sign in to the new account and use Gmail’s built in Import mail and contacts feature for a free transfer of mail and contacts. To keep your folder and label structure, use the Corbett Gmail Migration Tool over IMAP. The free route is fine for a simple move, the tool preserves how your mail was organised.
Why Move Data Between Google Accounts?
The trigger is usually a fresh start of some kind. People move to a new Gmail address for work, consolidate two accounts into one inbox, or shift personal mail off an old account they want to retire. Whatever the case, the worry is the same, that years of email and saved contacts will be stranded on the old account. They do not have to be. The data moves across, and you have two ways to move it depending on how much of the original structure you want to keep.
Free Method: Gmail’s Own Import Tool
This is the part the old guides got wrong by saying it does not exist. Gmail has a built in importer that pulls mail and contacts from another Gmail account at no cost.
- Sign in to your new Google account, click the gear icon and choose See all settings.
- Open the Accounts and Import tab and click Import mail and contacts.
- Enter the address of your old Google account and follow the sign in prompt to authorise the connection.
- Choose whether to bring contacts, existing mail and new mail arriving for the next while, then start the import.
Gmail copies the old account’s mail and contacts into the new one and keeps pulling new messages for about thirty days. For a straightforward personal move, this free route covers most of what people need.
What the Free Import Does Not Carry
Here is where the free tool shows its edges. Gmail’s importer works over POP3, and POP3 hands you a flat inbox. Your carefully built labels and folder structure do not survive the move, everything arrives lumped together, and mail you had filed under labels can be hard to pick back out. The import also runs on Google’s schedule, so a large mailbox trickles in over days rather than landing at once, and the new mail forwarding stops after about a month. For a tidy inbox none of that matters. For an account you have spent years organising into labels, it quietly erases that work.
“The question I always ask first is whether the person lives by their labels. If they do, Gmail’s free import will frustrate them, because POP throws the labels away. If they just want their mail in the new account and do not care how it is sorted, the free route is perfectly fine.”
Shaks George · Senior Analyst, Corbett Software
Expert Method: Keep Every Folder and Label
The Corbett Gmail Migration Tool connects to both accounts over IMAP rather than POP, so it reads every label and recreates the same structure in the new account. You add the source Google account, the tool loads the full mailbox, and date, sender and label filters let you move only what you want. It copies rather than deletes, so the old account stays intact, and a free demo edition lets you evaluate the migration first. One setup note, the same as for any tool connecting to Gmail. Turn on IMAP in the source account’s settings and, if two step verification is on, generate a Google app password to sign in with. It runs on all editions of Windows.
Steps to Migrate One Google Account to Another
- Install and launch the software, then click Open.
Step 1: The Open button on the start screen.
- Choose Email Accounts and then Add Account.
Step 2: Email Accounts with the Add Account option.
- Enter your source Google account with its app password, open Advanced Settings for the IMAP server or click Find to auto detect it, then press Add.
Step 3: Source account details with the IMAP server.
- Let the mailbox load, then review your labels and emails in the preview panel.
Step 4: The source mailbox in the preview panel.
- Click Export and choose Gmail as the destination.
Step 5: The Export menu with Gmail selected.
- Enter your second Google account details, apply any filters, then click Save to start.
Step 6: Destination account entered and ready to run.
Because the migration copies your mail, nothing leaves the old account until you decide to close it yourself.
Gmail Import vs the IMAP Tool
| Gmail Import (Free) | Corbett Gmail Migration Tool | |
|---|---|---|
| Labels and folders | Flattened into the inbox | Kept as the original structure |
| Contacts | Included | Mail focused, contacts handled separately |
| Selective move | All or nothing | Filter by date, sender or label |
| Cost | Free | Free demo, paid license for full use |
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People Also Ask
A1: Yes. Sign in to the new account, open Accounts and Import in Gmail settings and use Import mail and contacts. It copies mail and contacts from the old Gmail account at no cost, though it does not keep your label structure.
Q2: Will my labels and folders move to the new Google account?
A2: Not with Gmail’s free import, which uses POP3 and flattens everything into the inbox. An IMAP based migration tool reads each label and recreates the same structure in the new account.
Q3: Why does the migration tool not accept my Gmail password?
A3: Google blocks normal passwords in third party tools when two step verification is on. Turn on IMAP in the source account and generate a Google app password, then sign in with that app password instead.
Q4: Does Gmail import bring my contacts as well as mail?
A4: Yes. The Import mail and contacts option moves both. If you only want contacts, you can also export them from the old account as a CSV or vCard file and import that into the new one.
Q5: Does migrating delete the data from my old Google account?
A5: No. Both routes copy your data to the new account and leave the original in place. Nothing is removed until you delete or close the old account yourself.
Conclusion
Moving between Google accounts comes down to one question. Do your labels matter to you? If they do not, Gmail’s free Import mail and contacts handles the move at no cost, mail and contacts together. If they do, the Corbett Gmail Migration Tool carries the whole label structure across over IMAP so the new account looks just like the old one. Decide which matters and the path is clear. Are you after a quick free copy or an exact rebuild of your old account?
